NCJ Number
182442
Date Published
2000
Length
74 pages
Annotation
This policy report examines the systematically unequal treatment of black and Hispanic Americans and other minorities as compared to their similarly situated white counterparts within the criminal justice system.
Abstract
The report’s seven chapters: (1) examine the issue of racial profiling and other law enforcement strategies and practices that single out blacks and Hispanics as objects of suspicion solely on the basis of skin color or accent; (2) address the unequal treatment of minorities in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion, focusing on charging decisions in drug cases and racial disparity in the administration of capital punishment; (3) review the issue of sentencing and describe the role of Congress and other legislative bodies in shaping and implementing criminal justice policies that fall short of the national commitment to equal treatment under the law; (4) discuss the judiciary’s failure to redress obvious injustices by curbing access to and restricting the use of data that reflect the disparate impact on minorities of law enforcement and prosecutorial practices; (5) examine the disproportionately harsh treatment of minorities in the juvenile justice system, an area in which especially pronounced disparities pose ominous consequences for minority communities; (6) outline the consequences of unequal treatment of minority Americans in the criminal justice system; and (7) suggest several proposals to ameliorate racial disparities. Notes